4.1 Introduction

Once services have commenced the primary focus of contract management will be the ongoing cycle of Contract Waste delivered to the Contractor, the services provided by the Contractor and the services paid for by the Authority. 

Some of the obligations the Authority has in relation to the monthly cycle have to be performed within a relatively short specified period - the principle example being payment of invoices. The sections of the Contract Management Manual which deal with such obligations should make it clear that there are time limits and document the management systems devised by the Contract Manager to ensure those deadlines are met.

This chapter looks at the different stages in the monthly cycle starting with the delivery of the waste to the Contractor. It goes on to look at the things that the Contract Management Team can do to help ensure that services delivered are satisfactory to the Authority. It then addresses the issues relating to payment for the services provided and the issues arising if services are not performed in accordance with the Contract. Finally it examines the potential for the Authority's payments to be reduced as a result of the sharing of any additional income or profit earned by the Contractor.

The Contract will include a number of deadlines for the processes involved in this monthly cycle. It will be a key indicator of the effectiveness of the Contract Management Team that all such deadlines applying to the Authority are met consistently.